Really hyped for this year. Congrats to everyone who got drafted. I'm happy to see so many friends and acquaintances who are new to the scene get their time in the sun. I'm especially excited to see the floor being given to mainers who have put in the work to distinfuish themselves, probably mostly because I know them from the community, but also because I think this could be the ground for a proper, focused theoretical debate from players who have their fingers on the pulse, if all goes well. Alternatively, it could be the case that no wild, new ideas enter the pool. I have Pheo's phenomenal run from a few years back and BIHI's emergence as a serious threat in mind, but it just hits different to see Mushi League goons and people with a focus breaking through. I have a few unserious thoughts that I wanted to share, discuss, or otherwise just say 'aloud.' Of course, veterans will know everything I say is unserious and worth dismissing at face value, along with my opinion that Sableye and Missy are degeneracy incarnate. Speaking of degenerates, thanks to Gold for making this post and organizing everything this year. Amazing guy when you know his as well as I do, but not more
Congrats to ABR on winning 2024 in style. I won't criticize you too much for running from playing ADV LIKE A COWARD after winning everything and building so many beautiful teams. I don't know how easily people will incorporate this new, more ideosyncratic, and refreshing brand of ADV he's been playing (building) over the last year into their regular rotation of teams, because it appears to be a bit more nuanced than 'dominate everything with overwhelming defense,' but it's given me (and maybe the rest of us?) some new thoughts to tinker with, so I don't think we will miss his impact on the tier, if only because he's managing another exciting player who shares some of his views in Arctic, presumably here to ADV. In any event, he's undeniably ADV's frontrunner, and SPL is better (to watch) when he's playing in it.
There are a lot of newer players this year, and I regard all of them in high esteem. I don't really want to make a proper power ranking, because I don't really know how to compare these guys, but also because I know and like a lot of them and don't want to have to say anything negative just to explain the difference between someone who might be expected to go 6-3 vs 5-4, when a lot of this comes down to luck and reading (guessing) match-ups. There are a lot of names here, but I prefer to keep things to people with whom I have actual contact.
On Arctic, I have to say I have missed him this past year myself. He was probably peaking last time we saw him, playing some of his most impressive and winning ADV and found himself poised to leave a mark on '24, when he lost a set to the big man himself early in Jimtour and crashed out due to losing motivation, announcing he would likely retire until SPL -- a man of his word -- but his play was quite brilliant, even in the loss, and his teams and accurate play have posed some uncomfortable questions to his opponents. Nobody is perfect, and I fully expect him to improve over his performance last year, but I hope he has more fun than he did last time he played. I think we're in for a fun ride here, if he can stay on form. He's the most creative builder in the pool, in my opinion, but I think his SPL last year was a bit more focused and 'correct' than some of his more experimental ideas -- I'm thinking of some of his jank HO/stall Dugtrio balances with Rest Dols, Slowbro, or Medi+Hera -- but I'm definitely hyped for him as much as anyone.
In terms of creativity, I think River deserves the nod as the next up. She gives me Arctic vibes. Newer, talented, opinionated... If you're in ADV, I think you should know who she is by now, and you should also know 3k is a steal. I don't think anyone is going 9-0 in ADV, but she could easily take first with her iron mentality, sharp preparation, low-error play, and dedication to improving, just so long as she doesn't get bored of RNG and match-up RPS and request to play in a different tier. Obviously, I'm speculating about her starting, as she was a 3k pick-up -- clearly no one recognized her enormous talent -- but not starting her would be a mistake. She's probably the most versatile in the pool, and deserves the spot. Definitely one I'm excited to watch.
Fruh is also playing, which he said he wouldn't, but I guess there was a Brazilian quota that needed to be met? He said he wouldn't play, but then he changed his mind, maybe due to FOMO. One of my best friends here, and a brilliant theoritician in his own right, I hope he has fun and shows out, because this is a long-ass tournament that can wear you out. Also one of my favorites. Of course, BKC and Soulwind are on the team and will likely offer support, but I don't know if the burden of being accountable to well-regarded team-mates weighs more strongly than his desire to express his style in game. I just want to say, do your own thing and you'll do great, buddy.
Apropos of a Brazilian quota, Mielke and Mayo have been picked. I think they might be from Fruhdazi's dojo, but I haven't asked. I'm curious how they will do. Mayo's run this year was no fluke, winning almost every game in ADV in Smogon team tours that we saw him in and then some, and I think he could show out and claim the spot for the next few years, but he's used a lot of the (style of) zoomer teams I labbed with a little bit, so I'm skeptical. I would love to help him, but I would also love to help half of the participants this year.
Mielke has Pak on his team. I didn't expect Pak to make finals of the last Jimtour, just because I haven't really paid such close attention to him in previous tours, and he's been around for a minute, but I'm happy to be proven wrong. It's the only way to find new ideas, and I will be digging through his replays for inspiration. I was excited to see Mielke on this list, but he might be second in line after Pak's respectable performance and name recognition after years of play. I think is a solid theoretician who is somewhat modest for his own good. He hasn't had the same results as the names above him, but I think his marathon could carry him further than most of their sprints, since he's got solid fundamentals. If he's allowed to play, I see him picking up a few wins, and if he breaks through, I can even see him claiming several tours in 2025 against a surpassingly competitive field.
Those were most of the players I was personally excited to see. Fresh blood, after the mass boomer extinction event that claimed Asta, UD, Undisputed, and surprisingly not Triangles??? in the last few years, and the entire community coming together to agree that the Italian community has a publicity issue. Mikmer was a favorite builder of mine in his last tours, and pkLeech was my riding partner, but I guess things weren't meant to be. It's hard to separate the art from the artist, and even harder when you don't respect the artist -- and we're Pokemon players. We've all seen the Smogtours chat. We all know how to be cocky and dumb in our moments, so let's not pretend -- but I still don't know how to feel about some of this. Would be lovely to have new Ojama teams and games, but just without the Ojama problems. On the other hand, this year, we have a lot of nice guys who are easy to root for.
Baddummy is one of the more pleasant presences in the community, and obviously had one of the most legendary Callous tour runs, and Mako has been playing a unique, but brilliant style that deserves props. I also see and respect Sadly, and have suspected their influence in several teams that have been popular in the last years. And Triangles is Triangles. I don't really know the dude, but he's hilarious and a legend, and he's got a jank streak that can win match-ups with the right tech -- a Salac Berry DD Tar to reverse sweep and clutch the game -- or lose to Zapdos critting Tbolt against no Zap check. Does that make him a nice guy?
Last thing I'll say on the teams is,
I'm not sure who the Raiders intend to play in ADV (
Edit: I have been informed that it is Skarpherim, who has been making the case for himself being the ladder GOAT recently and just won a tour. I did see this, but I didn't discuss with anyone because I love under a rock, and promptly forgot. He's a talented builder with slightly off-beat ideas, and I hope he's here to stay). Monai has his reps, but fancies himself a BWer, and this is also his first time, if I'm not mistaken, and there were other more active ADVers in 2024. Not familiar with his game, I'm not sure what the plan is here, which could be on me for missing some other big-name player deciding to pivot to Advance, but this is the one team that leaves me wondering what the direction is in an otherwise saturated field of players. Maybe the decision was to focus on other tiers and treat this as a fodder slot, since it's unclear? I didn't see the draft, and I don't care to check their purse, but if half of these guys went for ≤5k, I have to wonder to what extent any of the managers were aware of the talent.
Obviously, some names are missing. Clat and SEA immediately come to mind as nailed on starters, and I'm going to look like an idiot when the (projected) lineups come out and it's revealed that I've misread half of the names, missed the other half entirely, and the other half is found to be Fruhdazi schizo-alting through Chinese servers while off his meds, but please don't ping me about it
Zacpz. I really don't appreciate it. You're not even my real dad.
Here's to everyone's favorite tier.
vs 
vs 
vs 
vs 
